Sacramento State’s volleyball team split their road matches this weekend against Southern Utah and Northern Arizona improving to 13-12 overall and 8-6 in the Big Sky Conference.

The Hornets entered Thursday’s matchup against Southern Utah on a three match winning streak. They were able to extend the streak with a four set victory (25-20, 25-18, 21-25, 28-26) over the last place Thunderbirds.

Southern Utah dropped to 2-22, with a 1-12 conference record.

Senior right-side hitter Kayla Beal had a solid performance for Sac State with 15 kills and a .300 hitting percentage. The Hornets as a team collected 61 kills and a .204 percentage.

Southern Utah’s senior middle blocker Lusia Angilau led the way for the Thunderbirds with 11 kills and a .400 percentage. The Thunderbirds were limited to 52 kills and a .197 team percentage in the loss.   

Saturday’s foe was third ranked Northern Arizona (16-6, 10-3), who the Hornets lost to in straight sets (21-25, 19-25, 24-26).

The Hornets had snapped a seven match losing streak against Northern Arizona Sept. 27 at home, but were unable to contain the attack of the Lumberjacks the second time the two teams met.

The Hornets collected just 35 kills while hitting .142 on the night. Beal led Sac State with 10 kills.

Sophomore outside hitter Janae Vander Ploeg propelled Northern Arizona to victory with an 18 kill performance, to go along with a .417 hitting percentage. The Lumberjacks hit .269 as a team and racked up 40 kills.

Sac State will continue its road trip traveling to first place North Dakota (18-8, 13-1) Saturday, followed by Northern Colorado (9-15, 5-9) Monday.